What's New for Nurses

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January 2013

Demonstrate your active lifestyle to patients and staff! Starting January 1st, 2013, staff will log their activity level. The Image of Nursing Council will then collect the activity log at the end of the month, and units will be recognized for the most participants and the most hours of activity.

What's New at UC San Diego Medical Center : 2011

First Total Artificial Heart Implanted on the West Coast at UC San Diego Medical Center

Thornton Hospital

On Jan. 7, 2011 the first Total Artificial Heart Transplant on the West Coast was performed at Thornton Hospital.

The preparation for this surgery required that 30 RN’s from the Thornton ICU and 25 RN’s from 2 West be adequately trained in handling the Total Artificial Heart. The training for Thornton ICU was organized by Cassia Chevillion RN Nurse Educator with SynCardia the maker of the artificial heart. Cassia said that the biggest obstacles to this surgery facing nurses were “fear “and the 450 pound machine that is hooked up to the heart, this machine put a premium on space in the room. This type of heart is used when the patient has end-stage total bi-ventricular failure.

Angelo Sanciano RN at UC San Diego for 4 years was one of the ICU Nurses who was involved in this groundbreaking experience; Angelo who is also a Charge Nurse on the ICU is identified as a Super-user who works closely with the Director of Cardiac Transplantation and Mechanical Circulatory Support who performed the operation. Angelo also talked about the fear he had about handling a patient with this device, “The Artificial Heart has no electronic pathways, no EKG, no monitoring”.

Angelo stated that the surgery took about 5 hours and that it took less than 1 hour for the heart to be delivered so the patient could be artificially transplanted. The patient is now recovering after undergoing heart transplant surgery.

3 other types of Mechanical circulatory support devices that are available are:

HeartMate II that is a Left Ventricular Assist System.

Tandem Heart System that can be used in either Right or Left Ventricular Failure.

Abiomed provides temporary support for one or both sides of the natural heart in circumstances where the heart has failed.

New Information from Adrian Ferreira:
I wanted to inform everyone that within the next 2-4 months (Specific date TBD), we will be converting our Pulse Oximetry equipment to Masimo. Along with the equipment change we will have to switch out our current sensors. Below I have listed all the sensors that would be affected upon this change.

UC San Diego Item#

Description

Manufacture

Catalog#

715116

SENSOR OXIMETER DIGITAL ADULT

NELLCOR

MAX-A

716281

SENSOR OXIMETER INFANT

NELLCOR

MAX-I

716282

SENSOR OXIMETER FOOT NEONATAL

NELLCOR

MAX-N

715117

SENSOR OXIMTER DIGITAL PEDS

NELLCOR

MAX-PR

716283

SENSOR OXIMETER NASAL ADULT

NELLCOR

MAX-R

716284

SENSOR FOREHEAD

NELLCOR

MAXFAST

Could everyone please make sure to check any “extra stash” that may be carried or stored in areas away from your carts or par locations. We want to make sure that upon conversion we have depleted as much inventory as possible.

New UC San Diego Item numbers will be created for the Masimo sensors, since CVC will be the first to go live. We will be running both types of sensors for a while, until both Hillcrest and Thornton are converted.

When a specific date is determined, I will be providing notice once again as a reminder and a plan of action.